Two prominent Jewish advocates told Newsmax on Monday that conservatives risk repeating the Democratic Party's mistakes if they tolerate extremist voices within their ranks.
The warning was delivered amid backlash to Tucker Carlson's interview with white nationalist and Holocaust denier Nick Fuentes.
Appearing on "National Report," Jewish scholars Thane Rosenbaum and Shabbos Kestenbaum said the Republican Party must draw a clear line against fringe figures like Fuentes, who has a long record of antisemitic statements.
Kestenbaum, a former Democrat who left the party over its accommodation of far-left activists, said conservatives are now "on the verge of doing the exact same thing."
"Conservatism is only as strong as the values it fights for," he said. "I left progressivism because they surrendered to the most radical elements of their base.
"And I see the conservative movement — and by extension, the Republican Party — catering to the most extreme, the most radical, the most anti-American elements within the party."
He pointed out that Fuentes not only refused to vote for Donald Trump, but also urged his followers to do the same — undermining Republicans even as Jewish voters turned out for Trump in record numbers.
"If the Republican Party, under the leadership of JD Vance [in 2028], chooses to acquiesce to this 'woke right' or America first online base, they will lose elections," Kestenbaum warned. "This isn't just a Jewish issue or an Israel issue — this is about the future of the Republican Party."
Kestenbaum urged GOP leaders to denounce extremists, saying that without moral clarity, the party risks alienating mainstream voters and following Democrats "into self-destruction."
Rosenbaum, a novelist, legal scholar, and Newsmax contributor, emphasized that Republicans have historically stood shoulder to shoulder with Jewish Americans and Israel — and must not jeopardize that alliance.
"Republicans are pro-American and pro-Israel, and so are Jews," Rosenbaum said. "Jews and Christians are partners in Western civilization."
He argued that flirtations with antisemitic or isolationist rhetoric undermine this shared moral foundation.
"Why is he doing this?" Rosenbaum said of Carlson.
"This is very damaging," Rosenbaum said. "Republicans have been making inroads with Jewish Democrats … and I fear that this comes at a time when the progressive left seems so unhinged.
"Why is the right looking as if it has a similar antisemitic fringe element?"
Both advocates said the health of the conservative movement depends on its ability to reject bigotry in all forms.
Kestenbaum, drawing on his experience as a disillusioned Democrat, offered a stark warning: "It's about time that those in the Republican Party stand up to this idiocy.
"And if they don't, as a Democrat who saw the destruction of my own party, I'm telling you — the Republican Party is on the verge of doing the exact same thing."
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Mark Swanson ✉
Mark Swanson, a Newsmax writer and editor, has nearly three decades of experience covering news, culture and politics.
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